Hussein bin Abdullah (born 28 June 1994) is

Crown Prince of Jordan The Crown Prince of Jordan is the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Jordan. The Article 28(B) of the Constitution of Jordan provides for Primogeniture#Agnatic primogeniture, agnatic primogeniture, meaning that the eldest son of ...

as the eldest son of

King Abdullah II Abdullah II (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

and

Queen Rania Rania Al Abdullah (born Rania Al-Yassin, 31 August 1970) is Queen of Jordan as the wife of King Abdullah II. Rania's domestic activities include education, youth, environmental, and health initiatives. Globally, she has campaigned for educati ...

. He is a member of the

Hashemite The Hashemites (), also House of Hashim, are the Dynasty, royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz (1916–1925), Arab Kingdom of Syria, Syria (1920), and Kingd ...

dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is considered to be a 42nd-generation direct descendant of the prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. Hussein is currently a Major in the

Jordanian Armed Forces The Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) (, romanized: ''Al-Quwwat Al-Musallaha Al-Urduniyya''), also referred to as the Arab Army (, ''Al-Jaysh Al-Arabi''), are the military forces of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. They consist of the ground forces, ...

. He served as a regent on several occasions and has accompanied his father on a number of local and international visits. Hussein also represented Jordan at international forums including the at the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

United Nations Climate Change Conference The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties – the conference of the par ...

, and the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

. He began his education in Jordan, and, in 2016, graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

with a degree in International History. In 2015, at the age of 20, Hussein became the youngest person to chair a UN Security Council session. After graduating from Sandhurst in 2017, he made a global debut when he addressed the UN General Assembly in September of that year. Hussein is in charge of the Crown Prince Foundation, which is responsible for a technical university and a number of scientific and humanitarian initiatives. He also champions the National Council for Future Technology, a body dedicated to advancing Jordan's technological standing, and leads several initiatives to promote tourism and technical education and vocational training in Jordan. In 2023, he married Rajwa Al-Saif, with whom he has a daughter, Princess Iman.

Early life and education

Hussein was born on 28 June 1994 at

King Hussein Medical Center King Hussein Medical City () is a military medical complex that has five hospitals situated in Amman, Jordan. It is affiliated with the Jordanian Royal Medical Services (JRMS), a body of the Jordanian Armed Forces responsible for providing medica ...

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

to the then- Prince Abdullah and Princess Rania. Abdullah had met Rania, a marketing employee at

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

, in Amman at a dinner organized by Abdullah's sister Princess Aisha in January 1993; they married six months later. Hussein is the namesake of his grandfather,

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...

. Hussein claims descent in the male line from

's daughter

Fatimah Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid, Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and ...

and

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, the fourth caliph. The Hashemites ruled

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

for over 700 years until its 1925 conquest by the

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling ...

, and have ruled Jordan since 1921. The Hashemites are the oldest-ruling dynasty in the

Muslim world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

, and are the second-oldest-ruling dynasty in the world, after the

Imperial House of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

. His paternal grandmother,

Princess Muna Princess Muna Al Hussein (, born Toni Avril Gardiner 25 April 1941) is the mother of Abdullah II of Jordan. She was the second wife of King Hussein; the couple divorced on 21 December 1972. She is British by birth. Early life Toni Avril Gardi ...

, is an English-born convert to Islam, and his mother is of Palestinian descent. Crown Prince Hussein is the eldest child of King Abdullah and Queen Rania, and he was born during the reign of his paternal grandfather, King Hussein. Crown Prince Hussein has three siblings: Princess Iman, Princess Salma and Prince Hashem. Hussein started his primary education at the International School of Choueifat and the International Amman Academy; he finished his high school at

King's Academy King's Academy (Arabic transliteration: "كينغز أكاديمي") is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for students in grades 7 to 12 in Madaba-Manja, Jordan. It is named in honor of King Abdullah II of Jordan and seeks t ...

in 2012, obtained a bachelor's degree in International History at

in 2016, and graduated from the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

in 2017. He is a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

Heir apparent

Royal Standard of the Crown Prince of Jordan

Abdullah was not expected to succeed to the throne despite being King Hussein's eldest son; King Hussein had appointed his own younger brother Prince Hassan - Abdullah's uncle - as heir designate in 1965. Shortly before King Hussein's death on 7 February 1999, the King replaced Hassan with Abdullah. When Abdullah became king, he named his younger half-brother, Prince Hamzah, as heir designate on his accession. On 28 November 2004, King Abdullah removed Hamzah from his title as crown prince. Though the title of crown prince was left vacant, the

Constitution of Jordan The Constitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was adopted on 1 January 1952. It revised the previous Constitution of 1947 to expand the powers of the legislature and add checks to the executive power of the cabinet. The Constitution defi ...

provides for

agnatic primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit all or most of their parent's estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relat ...

: the monarch's eldest son is automatically first in the

line of succession to the Jordanian throne Succession to the Jordanian throne is regulated by Article 28 of the Constitution of Jordan. It consists of the line of people who are eligible to succeed to the throne of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Succession rules The throne currently p ...

unless decreed otherwise. Crown Prince Hussein thus became heir apparent as soon as his half-uncle lost the status. Analysts widely expected King Abdullah to bestow the formal title on Hussein. The title was conferred on 2 July 2009 when a royal decree naming him as crown prince, effective immediately, was issued.

Official duties

President Joe Biden walks alongside King Abdullah II

Unlike the King's role, that of

the Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

is mostly ceremonial under the Constitution and the title is not associated with any political post. Hussein performed his first official engagement in June 2010, when he represented his father at the celebrations of the anniversary of the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

and the Armed Forces Day. Crown Prince Hussein has served his father on both official and military missions, and has served several times as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

during the King's absence from the country. Hussein is in charge of the Crown Prince Foundation, which is responsible for a technical university and a number of scientific & humanitarian initiatives. The foundation established the Haqiq initiative, which aims to encourage youth for volunteerism; a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

internship program; MASAR initiative to encourage space technology innovation; and the Hearing Without Borders initiative that funds cochlear implants for Jordanians with impaired hearing. The interns from the NASA program built a

cubesat A CubeSat is a class of small satellite with a form factor of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit,, url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/5f24997b6deea10cc52bb016/1596234122437/CDS+REV14+2020-07-3 ...

(mini satellite) named JY1, Jordan's first satellite that launched from California in 2018. The cubesat project was named after the late King Hussein's amateur radio callsign. In 2013, Crown Prince Hussein participated in a training session with the members of the Jordanian special forces elite 71st Counter Terrorism Battalion. On 14 July 2014, Hussein visited the

in Amman where injured Palestinians who fled

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

were receiving medical treatment. On 23 April 2015, the then-20-year-old Prince Hussein became the youngest person ever to chair a

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

session. During the meeting, the prince oversaw a debate about methods of preventing young people from joining extremist groups.

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

, the then-

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

, said Hussein is "not yet 21 years old, but he is already a leader in the 21st century". The Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2250 titled "Maintenance of international peace and security"; the resolution was presented at the initiative of Jordan during the session Hussein presided over. In May 2017, Hussein made the welcoming speech during a session of the

that was held on the Jordanian shores of the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

. In September 2017, after having graduated from Sandhurst, he gave Jordan's speech at the UN General Assembly.

Personal life

The Crown Prince's

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account has 5.1 million followers ; he posts pictures that showcase his hobbies, which include reading, playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, cooking, motorcycling and playing the guitar. He also enjoys playing chess in his spare time. Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II and Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein

Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II and Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein

On 17 August 2022, the

Royal Hashemite Court The Royal Hashemite Court (RHC) (, ''Al-Diwan Al-Malaki'' ''Al-Hāshimy''), which is historically known as Al-Maqar (, ), is the administrative and political link between the King of Jordan and the Jordanian state which includes constitutional aut ...

announced the engagement of Crown Prince Hussein to Saudi citizen

Rajwa Al Saif Princess Rajwa Al Hussein (; born Rajwa Al Saif; 28 April 1994) is a Saudi member of the Jordanian royal family. She is married to Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan, heir apparent to the Jordanian throne. The couple's engagement was announce ...

. The couple met via a mutual friend. The engagement ceremony was held at the home of Al Saif's father in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Al Saif is the daughter of Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al Saif and Azza bint Nayef bin Abdulaziz bin Ahmed Al Sudairi (daughter of a maternal first cousin of King

Salman of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; born 31 December 1935) has been King of Saudi Arabia since 2015, and was Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. He is the 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia. He assumed the thron ...

). Al Saif attended the Syracuse University School of Architecture. The couple married on 1 June 2023 at

Zahran Palace Zahran Palace () is a palace in Amman, Jordan, built in 1957. It has hosted many royal events, such as the wedding of the current Abdullah II of Jordan, King and Queen Rania of Jordan, Queen of Jordan in 1993. In addition, celebrations of then Ha ...

. On 3 August 2024, the couple had their first child, Princess Iman. She is the first grandchild of King Abdullah and Queen Rania.

Honours

National honours

* : ** Grand Cordon of the

Order of Independence Order of Independence or Independence Order () is a Vietnamese decoration. Criteria The Vietnamese government states that the decoration "shall be conferred or posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or med ...

. **

Medal of the Order of the State Centennial.

Foreign honours

* : ** Member 1st class of the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance (5 February 2019). * : ** St Olavs Orden storkors stripe

Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (2 March 2020). * : ** Commander Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order o ...

(15 November 2022).

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussein bin Abdullah 1994 births Crown princes of Jordan House of Hashim Jordanian people of Palestinian descent Jordanian people of English descent Princes of Jordan Jordanian Sunni Muslims Jordanian royalty Living people People from Amman Grand Cordons of the Order of Independence (Jordan) Recipients of King Hamad Order of the Renaissance Order of Saint Olav Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Sons of kings Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst